Project: Jacob's Children Update

At the end of April we were able to complete a long standing mosquito net distribution project. This project was originally conceived in the mind of a little boy named Jacob Russell in Lakeland, Florida. He had attended two VBS programs that were raising money for mosquito nets to be used to fight Malaria on the African continent. Madagascar was not the focus of these projects, nor had it been mentioned. But, God used those programs to speak to Jacobs heart helping people in Madagascar.

I was contacted by John Beward, Jacob’s grandfather, about the possibility of raising money for this net project. Matthew and Danielle Russell, Jacob’s parents, had organized a fundraising campaign to collect the money for the nets in Madagascar. I would like to thank the Russell Family and John Beward for the vision and focus to organize and collect the funds for this project. I am sure this experience will be firmly planted in Jacobs mind for the rest of his life. I would also like to thank each and every person who contributed to this project.

The total amount raised was $1,831.04. It may not seem like a significant amount of money, but 1,000 nets were purchased that will cover between 2,000 and 3,000 people.

We partnered with a local church in the village of Ilaka Est on the East coast of Madagascar. This area is in the RED zone for risk of Malaria in Madagascar. Our goal was to help the church use the net distribution as a way to make a gospel outreach into their community. Nearly five weeks after, we received a report that many new people have started to attend the church and many of those have received Christ as Savior! Praise the Lord!